This coming Sunday, coaches across the state will be tasked with seeding teams for the upcoming state tournament. Far be it from me to tell volleyball coaches how to do their jobs, but may I make one recommendation? Teams should be seeded based on what they have accomplished this season, not necessarily how predictive indexes like mine view them.
For this week, I’ve added a RÉSUMÉ rating for that very reason. It takes a team’s record, strength of schedule and quality of opposition and asks a simple question: How impressive has this team’s season been so far?
So this week, let’s highlight teams whose body of work has soared higher than my predictive model gives them credit for.
DIVISION I – STRONGSVILLE
The Mustangs’ only loss this season came at the Massillon Jackson tournament two weeks ago, where they actually outscored No. 7 (D-II) Wadsworth, 71-66. However, dropping the third set sent Strongsville into the consolation bracket for the rest of the tournament.
Strongsville sits alone atop the Greater Cleveland Conference after a 3-1 win at Mentor this past Tuesday, when Payton Beard delivered an eye-popping 36 kills.
With that win, the Mustangs have made a strong case to be the top seed coming out of the Northeast when the tournament brackets are drawn Sunday.
DIVISION II – BIG WALNUT
The Golden Eagles deserve to be the top seed in Division II. I know that’s not exactly how geographic seeding works, but I stand by the statement.
Big Walnut remains undefeated despite facing 17-1 Olentangy Berlin, Pickerington North, Bloom-Carroll and Westerville South — twice.
The biggest thing keeping the Golden Eagles out of the top spot in my predictive index is a strength of schedule that drops off quickly outside of those opponents. But at some point, undefeated is undefeated, and it should be fun to see what Big Walnut can do in the tournament.
DIVISION III – GOSHEN
The undefeated Warriors finally debuted in the Division III top 15 and are also a team that should be kept away from the heavy hitters early in the postseason.
Now, to be frank, that is going to be challenging. The Southwest is loaded with McNicholas, CHCA, Tippecanoe, Bellbrook and the Hamilton duo of Ross and Badin.
But with non-conference wins over Miami Trace, Lakota East and Summit Country Day, Goshen has more than earned a seed that reflects what the Warriors have accomplished on the court.
DIVISION IV – NORTON
I almost went outside the top 15 to brag up London. The Red Raiders’ two losses, to Circleville and No. 5 Jonathan Alder, are certainly forgivable. But this spot has to go to Norton.
Norton’s power rating has been closely tied to the successes and failures of the Metro Athletic Conference. With 12 of its 17 matches coming in conference play, the Panthers have had limited opportunities to prove themselves against the rest of the state. Their best non-conference win came against No. 13 (D-VII) Mogadore.
But it’s hard to punish the players on the court when they have gone undefeated against the schedule in front of them. A late postseason meeting between Norton and the likes of Lake Catholic or Medina Highland would make for excellent volleyball.
DIVISION V – SOUTH RANGE
There are six undefeated teams in Division V. Trying to pick one as the most “underrated” is a fool’s errand.
So, to make life easier on my brain, I’m going with the lowest-rated undefeated team: South Range.
Fun fact: Did you know North Lima, which feeds into South Range High School, is not north of Lima? It’s one of Ohio’s lesser-known geographic oddities, right there with Upper Sandusky.
South Range has been steamrolling through the Northeast 8 while also picking up strong non-conference wins over West Branch and United.
With so many undefeated teams still standing, sorting out the seeds in Division V is going to be an unenviable task.
DIVISION VI – MINERAL RIDGE
A common theme this week is teams with excellent records but an absurd number of conference matches. If the rest of the league isn’t pulling its weight, that can drag down an otherwise excellent season profile.
Mineral Ridge may be the poster child for that problem.
Despite a 16-1 record, the Rams don’t even crack my Division VI top 15. In fact, they sit at No. 20 behind teams such as Fort Frye and Anna. Their RÉSUMÉ rating, however, ranks 12th in the division.
The disconnect comes largely from playing only four non-conference matches, with their lone loss coming against No. 13 (D-IV) Canfield.
But that season-opening win over 14-2 Warren JFK still looks awfully impressive in October.
DIVISION VII – BOTKINS
There isn’t much disagreement in Division VII between my predictive rankings and the results-based ratings — at least until we get down to New Knoxville.
But I want to talk about the team directly above them.
Botkins has almost the opposite problem from most of the teams featured this week: the Shelby County Athletic League is about as brutal as small-school volleyball conferences come. Despite sitting just above .500 in league play, the Trojans are a perfect 8-0 outside the SCAL.
Those non-conference wins include Hardin Northern, No. 15 New Knoxville, Indian Lake and Troy Christian.
That’s the problem with geographic seeding, though. Sooner or later, Botkins is likely to run into a familiar conference opponent such as Russia or Fort Loramie in the postseason.
